Jul 05, 2011 04:08 PM
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Of all the visits to the doctors the most dreaded one is that to the dentist. One feels the most vulnerable and helpless in a dentist’s chair. That is exactly how Poirot feels when he pays a visit to 58, Queen Charlotte Street, one fine morning for one of his regular half yearly sitting with his dentist Mr. Morley not knowing that it’s the last time he’s visiting his chamber or seeing him alive. The same afternoon Mr. Morley is found dead in his chamber. Scotland Yard is unable to decide whether it is suicide or murder. The mystery deepens when another patient of Dr. Morley, Mr. Amberiotis, dies due to wrong ministration of medicines injected during dental treatment. Inspector Japp, investigating the case, jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Morley mistakenly gave the fatal dosage, felt guilty later having realized the blunder and committed suicide. But Poirot thinks not. The Belgian detective’s suspicion is proven correct when another of Mr. Morley’s hapless patient Ms. Sainsbury Seale mysteriously goes missing one night after having walked out of her hotel for a stroll. Not to overlook the political angle to the catastrophes, Mr. Alfred Blunt, the man behind England’s financial stronghold, has two narrow escapes from death. Reason? The anarchists believe that removing him will help usher a new order. Oh yes! Incidentally, Mr. Blunt is also one of the celebrity patients of Mr. Morley.
He invites Poirot to solve the case of the missing Ms. Seale because her disappearance troubles him. As the plot takes its usual Christie-ian twists and turns, the reader is caught in the roller coaster ride of murders, attempted murders, disappearances, lover’s dilemmas and what not. Here I shall seal my mouth (nay, pen, nay keyboard) and let the readers crave for more. But to know more one must read another of Christie’s mind boggling murder mysteries – “One Two Buckle My Shoe”.
Having read almost all of Agatha Christie’s novels, I was really surprised to note that I had missed this one. However, it was a pleasant surprise because it gave me another chance to savour a Christie once more. Flipping it off the cart from flipkart.com with a considerable discount I gorged on the gory happenings with extravagant delight. Usually, Agatha Christie does not leave any questions unanswered, any mysteries unraveled or any doubts unresolved. But this time while reading the instant novel I was additionally cautious. Perhaps I have moved on with time. Perhaps I have gotten over the hypnotic charm of AC. Perhaps I have become too critical. From the very beginning I read the book with a questioning mind. As a result, I found a few gaps in the narration (Am I being too critical?). I observed a few open ended trails which led to nowhere. I came across a few characters which were deliberately created to egg on the mystery but who ultimately did not have much to do with the narration or the plot. Perhaps the unnecessary is required to establish the essentials more staunchly.
But all said and done, a Christie is a Christie is a Christie. Enormously racy, enjoyable, playing on the inane inquisitiveness of human minds (read readers’ minds) who involuntarily chase the unputdownable story like a racing horse. Her well-hidden trump cards which when she lays bare jolts the reader upright. Oh why did I not think of this possibility? Is the question that automatically races through one’s mind.
I definitely recommend the novel to those who have like me missed reading this one.
My rating of the novel will be 3.5 out of a scale of 5.
Happy Reading!!
PS: And please guys don’t you let that sadistic smile creep into your face imagining your dentist dead when you visit him/her the next time.
